77 oil discoveries found in 2017, Norway says

There were 77 discoveries on the Norwegian shelf being considered for development at the beginning of 2017, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s annual resource report.

The report also found that since 1990, total resources – including the estimate for undiscovered resources – had increased by more than 40%.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorates director of development and operations Ingrid Sølvberg welcomed the news, and claimed it proved Norwegian fields would provide value for years to come.

She said: “We have been producing oil and gas in Norway for nearly 50 years and we are still not halfway done. Vast volumes of oil and gas have been discovered on the Norwegian shelf that are still waiting to be produced.

“We want companies with the ability and willingness to utilise new knowledge and advanced technology. This will yield profitable production for many decades in the future.”

The resources at the 77 new discoveries amount to 700 million cubic metres.

In addition, the report claimed that about 850 million cubic metres can be produced through improved recovery measures – equivalent to the total production from the Statfjord field since its start up in 1979.

The report added that there are large volumes of oil and gas in tight reservoirs that could be recovered using new technology.

Sølvberg added: “The authorities expect that all resources that contribute to values for society will be produced, not just the ‘easy barrels’. This requires us to maintain strong expert communities and develop and apply new technology.

“The Norwegian shelf has been a laboratory for testing new technology. We now need to become leaders with regard to using the technologies that have been developed. We have a strong offshore technology environment in Norway. Let’s make sure this is also maintained in the future.”